my opinion is that people who don't like tanking in the NBA should be working on their spring gardens right now...or traveling...or reading a book Portland was 3 games out of the 10th seed when they actually started the tank. What fucking difference would 2 or 3 or 4 more wins make this season? Other than giving them a lower draft pick of course of all the things wrong with the NBA I think tanking is way down the list. If people want to bitch about something they should bitch about having a luxury tax system instead of a hard cap; or back-to-back games; or a majority of teams making the playoffs
I get the appeal to use a very simplistic approach, but I think this is overly simplistic. I think the closest you can come to creating a "right" framework (because there will always be problems) is slotting lottery odds by BEST winning percentage for teams missing the playoffs after: A) a team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs; B) a team is some arbitrary # or % games out of the playoffs C) an arbitrary threshold of games played (say, 70 games) In these types of situations, your essentially setting up a sub-tournament of sorts for the bad teams encouraging them to win games. Eliminates the problem of tanking, but creates new issues with potential player safety/load management, player development, etc.
Exactly. Were were playing at a tanking level before, without trying. Now, we are just doing it with purpose.
28-30 before the trade deadline is not tanking, it's actually rather impressive for a team that had their finger on the tank button before the season even started. Basically, Lillard had one helluva season. There was a huge "Trade Nurk" narrative before the deadline. Portland probably couldn't find a buyer, and had to use the Hart and Payton deals to open up room for Jerami Grant's upcoming mega contract.
The thing i hate about the NBA , is that tanking is necessary as a tool for small markets to compete. With the unfortunate fact that many top free agents won't sign in the small markets, it puts tanking as a top way to build a franchise. The thing is, the NFL also uses tanking as a way to build. It's the best way to get a top stud QB. The advantage the NFL has, is small markets (Green Bay, Denver, Pittsburgh) can compete , and succeed at the highest levels. You don't have to be LA or New York to attract the Best of the best in free agency. The NBA is totally different. Until that changes, if ever, tanking will be a necessity for small markets to hopefully hit the jackpot. But tanking happens bigtime in the NFL. The only thing ,to me, that makes the NBA a joke, is Load Management.
NBA officiating is a joke and that trickles down to the players ....we need ex players to become refs...let them play defense and let them finish in the paint like the game was designed to be played.
the Blazers had the stupidest December road schedule I've ever seen. Back 2 back 6 game road trips?? wtf is that??! When the team finally came home in January, they had a broken Winslow, sponges for legs, and a starting Center that could barely move. The aggressive Blazers defense to start the season turned into players with superglue stuck to the bottom of their sneakers. Cronin built a sneaky tank. Created a team a limited supply of reserve players. Coach Billups rolled with this idea and maxed out starter's minutes, claiming he can't put the bench guys in because they stink. "We're trying to make the playoffs." This year's Blazer tank is a complicated mess. The icon players started using ball games as a buffet line to pad personal stats. Losses became a really good thing for the team's future, and now Portland is gearing up for another crack at a super rookie. *sidebar - Blazers logged more missed games because of injuries then any other team in the NBA, you can't possibly blame the GM for not predicting this. retort - The GM signed those players knowing they have a history of missing games due to injury.
To many fans the goal is a championship and or contending. Trying to win now while only being first round fodder is trying to lose. While trying to rebuild long term while losing temporarily now in the short term is trying to win.
Become? The NBA has been on the "credibility of pro wrestling" trajectory since the Stern shoveling of marketing horseshit in the 80s.
Sharpe is still a question mark. He has talent, but can he play at an NBA level every night? Time will tell. Either way, I don’t like tanking. It’s a form of cheating. It undermines all the good things about sports that we teach our kids: trying hard, giving a full effort, never giving up, etc. And there’s not even a clear benefit to doing it. Portland has wasted too many draft picks and made too many bad trades to convince me they are somehow going to pluck a superstar out of the lottery and turn their fortunes around. Ain’t gonna happen. Tanking again this year is a desperate move by a desperate organization.
So in your system, the teams in the middle tank. NO, Dallas, OKC, Lakers would be tanking to miss playoffs. If you have the BEST chance at Wembanyama, I mean GS would be trying to lose now too. Tanking cannot be avoided unless the #1 team in the NBA gets the best odds.
To solve the tanking issue for non playoff teams the teams only. The team with the best record out of the last 20 games wins the first round pick and have it trickle down from there. So no more ping pong bullshit. You will have to play to win the the better pick in the draft
